Badr and the Banner of Khaybar

At Badr, before the armies clashed, three champions of Quraysh stepped out and demanded opponents of their own rank. The Prophet ﷺ sent out Hamzah, 'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith and 'Ali. Allah revealed about these duels: ﴿هَٰذَانِ خَصْمَانِ اخْتَصَمُوا فِي رَبِّهِمْ﴾ (“These are two opponents who disputed concerning their Lord”) (22:19). Years later 'Ali would say: "I will be the first to kneel before the Most Merciful for the dispute on the Day of Resurrection" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3965).

At Khaybar in 7 AH, the fortresses held out day after day. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Tomorrow I will give the banner to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and whom Allah and His Messenger love." The Companions spent the night wondering who it would be. In the morning he called for 'Ali, who was suffering from sore eyes; the Prophet ﷺ applied his blessed saliva to them, and they were healed as though there had been nothing wrong (Sahih al-Bukhari 3701; 3702).

As he handed him the banner, the Prophet ﷺ told him to invite them to Islam first, and said: "By Allah, that Allah should guide a single man through you is better for you than the finest red camels." Khaybar was opened at his hands.

01Why it matters

The greatest honour of the warrior was not victory but being loved by Allah and His Messenger, and the greatest prize was not the battle but a single soul guided.

02Reflection

In your arguments and struggles, are you seeking to win, or to guide?

03Sources

Sahih al-Bukhari 3965 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
Qur'an 22:19
Sahih al-Bukhari 3701 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
Sahih al-Bukhari 3702 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
Sahih Muslim 2406Sahih · in the two Sahihs

What the hadith grades mean

Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.

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